Hi, before I start, I'm not sure if I am in the right section here or not so please feel free to redirect me if I am wrong.

Out of curiosity, how did you set your rates, hourly or retainers. I feel like at the minute there are far too many people trying to beat each others rates that the industry may suffer in the short term with the lack of quality support on offer.

I personally take a look and an interest in what other VA's in my area are charging and make sure that my own pricing policy is still working for me. I was wondering though how you all set your rates.

First I looked a what others in my area were charging. I took into considerations, local, state and Fed taxes as well as any overhead I would have (which was not much).

Then I called a few temp agencies to see what they would charge to provide temp work to companies and factored that into the rates I had gathered.

As for retainer rates, I used pretty standard tiers and decided to add a small package for new clients.

I may charge less than some VA's but my services are "general" office and administration and I live in an area where cost of living is rather low compared to other states and areas. For more specialized services (bookkeeping, etc.) I do charge more since I would get a better wage if I were in a traditional "work" place.

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Lee Drozak

I struggled with this for a few days, but in the end, I took a look at what other VAs charge for the services I offer, took into account that I am new in the field (and that I don't do bookkeeping, which does seem to command higher rates), looked at what on site admin or executive assistants earn, and also how much I needed to earn to cover expenses, including taxes, insurance, vacation time, etc.

Something I was concerned about was setting my rates too low. For one thing, business owners for the most part are pretty savvy, and if you're the lowest price on the block, they will likely dismiss you as either unqualified, or misunderstanding of the work required (and I say this as a corporate buyer--the highest and lowest bids are generally discarded first). Also, even though I am new now, I will not be new always, and raising rates can be difficult, especially with established clients.

Of course it needs to be said that I am brand new to this, and may just be talking nonsense, and hopefully someone will correct any glaring errors in my thought process.

Cindy,

I agree with your logic. I would hope that people would disregard the lowest rates as these are the ones that in my opinion are likely to provide work of the lower standard.

I also agree that once rates are set with established clients it will be harder to raise those rates. I think I would consider the general raise of rates but not include the more regular clients and leave those at the 'old' rates for a complimentary period. Of course I would tell them that there will be an increase to the new rate on xx (set date).

I don't know why I would choose this action. Maybe I think I would like to be given that consideration should I be the client.

I did a benchmark of other VAs and since I was an executive assistant, I figured out my hourly salary complete with benefits, 401k matching etc and decided my rate based on that.

I have years of experience and education and I also took that into consideration as well.

I wrote a blog post on the process I used. You can find it here if your interested in taking a look. It takes alot of thought and you'll probably question your rates at times. I know I still do today.

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Deb Frawley
Gem's Virtual Office

As a newbie, I checked out sites for rates, temp agency rates and salaries being paid in my area. Hope this helps.

Dolores

I used to work for a local bookkeeping firm so I based my rates on what I was being charged out at, bearing in mind that I don't have quite as much experience (or overhead) as they did...

My rates are based on the going rate in the area plus overhead plus a little for many years of experience.

I recently raised my hourly rate with two of my clients. I have been charging them the same rate for over 10 years. One of them had no problem with the increase and asked why I hadn't done it sooner.

The second is a small non-profit who couldn't meet my rate so we negotiated a smaller increase for them. Unknowingly by raising my rates I had put them in a position where they had not budgeted for the increase AND they couldn't afford to hire anyone else because those rates were higher than my new rate. They have been an excellent client and I enjoy the work I perform for them. Now we are both happy!

I will charge my new rate(s) - have several levels depending on the work I'm doing - to all my new clients.

The new client I just got last week didn't bat an eyelash when I told him my rates.

Raising rates once in a while to keep up with cost of living is necessary. But, raising rates without notifying your existing client base in not good business practice. And, as I did, sometimes you need to compromise with your special clients.

Carol
CJ's Virtual Business Solutions

It is interesting to see the different approaches being used.

Kathie Thomas wrote an excellent blog article back in February about this topic. Well worth the read. http://vadirectory.net/blog/2009/02/...ould-i-charge/

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Lisa Olinda of Olinda Services
Keeping you on the path to success!
www.olindaservices.com

Thanks Lisa, just read Ms. Thomas' blog article well worth the read.

Dolores

Here's an interesting situation. I am trying to figure out now what to set my rate at. My situation is: my client is my previous boss. I worked with her 1999-2002 in Chicago (where FT exec. assts. get paid VERY well). I left making $33k and benefits (health, retirement). We have not talked about compensation yet. My husband's job provides us with full benefits, so I won't be needing or asking for those. She's also going to be using me on a part time (up to 20 hrs) a week to start with.

I live in a more remote (rural) area where my cost of living is less. However, I want to be sure I am getting paid fairly. I'll be doing virtually everything I did for her when I worked there previously, except for the physical running of errands and marketing.

When you call temp. agencies to ask about their rates, what exactly do you say to them? Do you say you're a VA or do you pose as someone looking to hire temp work?

Since I have such a personal relationship with her, do any of you have suggestions for how to approach this conversation? It's gotta be easier when you're dealing with strangers!

Thanks in advance...